Police have sounded a recruiting call for riders keen to pull the reins in on crooks to mount up and join them at a free security session this weekend.

The Herts Police rural operational support squad will team up with the Abbots Langley Safer Neighbourhood Team to meet horse owners and offer free saddle security marking.

Officers will also be on hand to offer crime prevention advice and talk to people about any issues or concerns they have in their local area.

You’ll be able to find them Highwood Hall Lane Farm Equestrian Centre in Bedmond Road, Abbots Langley on Saturday morning between 10am and noon – the venue’s postcode is HP3 8SJ.

During the sessions, saddles will be stamped with a Hertfordshire Constabulary mark and a unique reference number, which is then registered on a database.

If the saddle is stolen and then recovered by police, it is easier to return it to its rightful owner.

Saddle marking also makes it difficult for thieves to sell on stolen saddles.

The force’s rural operational support squad is a team of police officers specialised in dealing with crimes concerning rural and agricultural issues, wildlife, the local environment and the county’s heritage.

They also deal with traveller liaison issues, support local Safer Neighbourhood Teams and intervention officers, and can investigate any crimes including badger baiting, hare coursing, the theft of red diesel, nighthawking, stolen plant equipment, criminal damage and the theft of metal from historic buildings.

A pharmacy base in the heart of Apsley has been picked to be at the centre of a growing company’s online prescription operation.

The Medicx Pharmacy chain only opened its first branch in 2009 but already has a total of 21 sites, mainly in its Lancashire heartland.

Only four are in the south, but the London Road base in Apsley has been picked to become the hub of the new online pharmacy service.

Staff there process and dispatch orders as well as providing advice and consultation to patients from all over the country.

The www.medicxpharmacyonline.com website features a wide range of products including non-prescription medicines, mobility aids, weight management and incontinence products.

Also in stock are bulky items including wheelchairs and walking frames as well as family planning and sexual health products, offering patients greater convenience or privacy.

Pharmacy manager Herpreet Sharma said: “We handle everything from processing and dispatching orders to providing advice and consultation.

“The new website is very much an extension of Medicx Pharmacy’s services. It is a trustworthy source of reputable medicines where patients can make purchases with confidence and access expert advice and assistance from pharmacists.

“As one of our bigger locations, Apsley was ideally suited to the new service and we are now advising patients across the country.”

Deliveries can be made to a home address or any Medicx Pharmacy practices. Patients can also order repeat prescriptions and sign up to a free prescription delivery service.

Plans to expand the new website are already in the pipeline with steps to offer an online patient clinic later this year.

{http://www.medicxpharmacyonline.com|Click here to visit the new online pharmacy}

Plans to place prisoners from Herts in Bovingdon’s HMP The Mount for the final months of their sentences could drive down reoffending rates, says the county’s police and crime commissioner.

David Lloyd has spearheaded the campaign to ensure all local convicts are moved to the only prison in the county prior to their release, in a bid to ease their rehabilitation back into civilian life.

Under initial government plans, The Mount was earmarked to host prisoners from London, while Herts offenders would have been moved to a Suffolk jail.

The decision has since been overturned by justice secretary Chris Grayling and The Mount will now become Herts’ designated ‘resettlement’ facility.

Mr Lloyd said: “This is an excellent result for Herts.

“Getting prison leavers properly reintegrated back into the community is the best thing that can be done to stop them offending again.

“Housing, education, work and strong community ties are paramount as they can help steer ex-offenders away from a life of crime.

“Meanwhile, the authorities will also be better able to keep tabs on those prison leavers who are determined to go back to criminality.”

The resettlement scheme forms part of a new Transforming Rehabilitation programme by the government, which Mr Lloyd and the Herts police force have been working closely with other partnership agencies, services and charities to integrate.

It is hoped rehabilitating prisoners close to where they live will help them receive targeted training and support, prior to their sentence finishing and upon their return to the community.

The Mount’s governor Steven Bradford said: “In future, the prison will be able to better protect the local population in Herts from re-offending by former prisoners, by properly preparing them before their release into the community.

“This will be achieved by working much more closely with local agencies in resettling offenders.”

A woman who found a piece of jewellery with obvious sentimental value is embarking on a mission to find its owner.

Kathryn Crooks discovered the gold bracelet while walking in Woodhall Farm on Friday, and has since contacted this website as well as posting on community social media pages in the hope of reuniting it with the person who lost it.

The ornate bangle is engraved with the name Douglas Harwood, and Kathryn says it has another distinctive feature which would help the rightful owner identify it.

If you think it could be yours, get in touch by emailing hemelhx@jpress.co.uk.

A class full of students preparing for GCSE exams later this year must repeat coursework after concerns were raised about the amount of help the teenagers were given.

Hemel Hempstead School has launched an investigation and the Gazette believes the probe involves Year 11 students.

However, headteacher Patrick Harty is refusing to reveal the full details at this stage.

In a statement he said: “There have been concerns raised about the amount of guidance given to one of our classes of students as part of the curriculum.

“The education of our pupils is our primary concern and the school takes these matters seriously.

“It would be inappropriate to comment further while the school looks into this matter. We apologise for any inconvenience caused to pupils and parents.”

A letter sent out to the parents of affected children by the Heath Lane school’s head of English James Mitchell says: “As you may already be aware, as a result of recent internal moderation of GCSE folders in the English faculty, an error was found to have been made in the preparation and completion of your son/daughter’s controlled assessments.

“It is imperative that we are seen to work within the rules concerning the planning and completion of controlled assessments and, as such, the assessments must be completed anew in answer to different task titles/questions than was the case in the initial assessments.

“It is regrettable, but necessary, that the controlled assessments be repeated.”

In 2009 under government education reform controlled assessments replaced traditional coursework.

Instead, students now have to do the work in class under exam conditions.

Mr Mitchell told parents that: “It is at least a consolation that the error was detected in time such that the revision and planning necessary to support your son/daughter to re-attempt the assessments can take place.

“It may be a concern to you that some time has been wasted in the completion of the original assessments in what is a very busy academic year.

“It is true that the drafting process must be repeated.

“However, the controlled assessments are being written in response to texts already familiar to the students through previous study and so the content taught in previous lessons is relevant.”

He also encouraged parents to urge their children to take up extra sessions in preparation for the summer exams.

Has your child been affected? Let us know by calling 07803 505845.

A man killed by an avalanche in the Swiss Alps ski resort Col de Forclaz was a former student of Hemel Hempstead School.

The snow-buried body of Chris Longbottom, 39, was discovered by mountain rescue teams on Wednesday.

He owned a ski accommodation business - Swiss Estate - and the Gazette understands that his parents still live locally in Box Lane.

Mr Longbottom, who became a professional golfer at the age of 18 and set up his first ski business at 22, had been skiing off piste with a group of friends on Sunday when the avalanche struck but they were able to dig themselves out of the snow.

>To pay tribute call the Gazette on 07803 505845 or email thegazette@jpress.co.uk

The Snow Centre in Hemel Hempstead experienced its busiest day ever last weekend as the nation was hit with Winter Olympics fever.

Snowboarder Jenny Jones won Team GB’s first ever Winter Olympics medal on snow on Sunday – and it came as no surprise when The Snow Centre was inundated with customers eager to give the sport a go that day.

As well as the flood of people through the doors, The Snow Centre has also seen an increase of 30 per cent on incoming calls, and website visits have rocketed.

Ian Brown, The Snow Centre managing director said: “It’s great to see so many people inspired to try winter sports.

“The Snow Centre Team are looking forward to introducing many more adults and juniors to fun on the snow and are eager to support experienced skiers and snowboarders progress their snowsports skills further.”

A team of Berkhamsted Raiders parents led by group co-ordinator Pete Roberson have clubbed together to lose weight, get fit and raise £1,000 for the U7 team and for the Hospice of St Francis.

Coached by former Olympic rower Steve Lee, the team embarked on a weight loss and running regime, gradually working up from being non-runners to running the 5k fun run at Lake Dorney in Windsor.

Pete said: “Raiders yearly fees are very competitive to ensure the inclusion of all children which leaves a funding gap of around 30 per cent each year which needs to be filled with grants and shirt sponsorship.

“It’s very difficult to secure sponsorship for the U7s so we set out to raise money specifically to buy shirts for this age group and to raise awareness and funds for an important local charity - the Hospice of St Francis.

“With the initial aim of losing some weight after many individual false starts we collectively pitched ourselves against each other to see who could lose the greatest percentage.

“Realising that we needed a goal to keep up moment we decided to do something that we thought would be impossible – running 5k non stop in a respectable time.

“The donations came flooding in and we have now raised exactly £1,000. I’d like to say a big thank you to all those who donated and urge people to try running as a way to get fit - after all if I can run 5k then anyone can!”

The Waist-Cutting charity fund is still open. To sponsor Pete and his team go to www.justgiving.com/waistcuttingfinanc

A patient died from a very rare condition after going through a procedure to remove gallstones in her bile duct, an inquest heard yesterday.

Anthony Leahy said that less than one per cent of people who undergo the treatment – known as lithotripsy – develop ascending cholangitis, an infection of the bile duct.

The Watford General Hospital consultant said that only five per cent of people who do get cholangitis die from it.

But on Monday, November 10, two days after the procedure, 84-year-old Elsie Graves, of Ashmore Gardens, Hemel Hempstead, died after it developed into a whole-body inflammation.

Dr Leahy said: “We honestly did not think she was going to have a problem. We could never have imagined this would happen.”

Although the procedure had failed to remove all of her gallstones, he said there was no visible reason to keep her in hospital.

Coroner Edward Thomas recorded a narrative verdict, meaning that the cause of her death is not attributed to a named individual.

Speaking after the inquest, Elsie’s son Kenneth said: “She was wonderful – she loved life.” Her daughter Karen said: “She was very funny, witty and generous.”

“Anybody who falls in love is a freak. It’s a crazy thing to do. It’s socially acceptable insanity…”

Hello reader. It looks like you’re searching for a review of the new movie ‘Her’.

Luckily for you I am a cutting edge film reviewing operating system and I can tell you all about the merits of the film and let you know if it might be ‘your kind of movie’ . Judging from your body language and what I have monitored of you so far, it should be).

Here are some details of the plot – don’t worry, I’m programmed not to give away too many spoilers.

‘Her’ is set in 2025 and is the tale of a guy named Theodore Twombly (Joaquin Phoenix) – a lonely, kinda introverted chap whose day job is writing heartfelt letters for people who have difficulties expressing their feelings.

Theodore is not in a good place because he is going through a traumatic divorce with his childhood sweetheart Catherine (an excellently playful Rooney Mara),

On a whim he invests an artificially intelligent computer Operating System (OS) which can adapt and evolve, even to the point where it is capable of having human- like feelings.

Theodore’s new OS names herself Samantha (after reading an entire book of names in the blink of an eye) and proceeds to win his heart. I can see why – Sam (as I like to call her) is sexy, intelligent and brilliant all-round fun.

What follows is a strange, emotional and slightly freaky ‘what if’ tale as the odd couple bond over their discussions about love and life. As she experiences the world through and beyond the life of Theodore, Samantha’s self-awareness and insatiable hunger for knowledge grows exponentially. Can this human/A.I. love survive?

It’s a blast finding out in a story packed with adult themes, strong language and real emotion.

Director Spike ‘Being John Malkovich’ Jonze delivers something truly amazing with ‘Her’ – downloading the top eight matches for you:

l Unnervingly powerful drama.

l Laugh-out-loud comedy.

l Make you cry tragedy.

l Spiritually charged exploration of humanity.

l Techno-future cyber sci-fi.

l Haunting exploration of loneliness.

l A delve into the inner workings of relationships.

l A love letter to love itself…

I advise immediate and repeated viewings. Report complete. Would you like another search?

The ‘mystery picture’ of St Nicholas School featured recently in the Gazette brought several responses from local people, including one from a former pupil and one from a former teacher.

Sonia Waterton, then Miss Sully, was a resident class and art teacher and helped to look after the girls who lived there from 1950 to 1953, when she left to get married.

It was a preparatory school for girls up to about 14 years of age, some being boarders and others attending as ‘day girls’.

It cost £66 per term for boarders and from nine to 20 guineas for day girls.

The buildings contained a gymnasium, class rooms, a kindergarten wing and dormitories.

The house, formerly known as The Hollies, had been home to the Marnham family, well known in Boxmoor in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

The house was bought sometime pre-1933 by two sisters, the Misses E.B. and P.I. Brown, and a caring boarding school was founded there, later taken over in around 1949 by Miss Muriel Clegg BA

She tried to keep the ambience of the school according to its founders, but struggled to have the same impact on the girls under her care. The matron, Mrs Hastain, was later replaced by Miss Davies, who had a stronger hold on discipline.

The aim of the school was to prepare girls for the entrance and scholarship examinations for girls’ public schools.

Sonia has many happy memories of the school and can recall the names of some of the pupils, such as Sandra Butlin, Janet and Alison Douglas, Wendy Bullen, Elizabeth ‘Pony’ Shanks, Ann and Sheila McIntosh and Joanna and Rosamund Seth-Ward, daughters of the head of Heath Brow School.

The girls enjoyed the eight acres of grounds and played lacrosse, netball, tennis and rounders. On one open day, scenes from A Midsummer Night’s Dream were performed to parents in the open air.

The girls wore oatmeal coloured sweaters, brown Harris tweed skirts and red and white candy-striped dresses in summer.

Everything came from a large London store and was of the highest quality, even the brown interlock knickers, with white inner linings!

The gym was converted from the stables and coach-house and was a multi –purpose building, while the caretaker had his own accommodation on site.

There were extensions to the The Hollies for the staff room and classrooms, while the headmistress had her office in the old house, which also accommodated the housekeeper’s rooms, dormitories, matron’s rooms, playroom and dining room.

A gardener and a young assistant tended the grounds, including the kitchen garden and rose beds.

Several Wellingtonia trees and a lovely copper beech tree were part of the scene, as well as a pond where crested newts could be found.

Sonia’s recollections give a lot more detail about the staff and pupils she knew in the early 1950s and, although now blind, she has written her memories down for posterity.

The once isolated nature of the school protected the girls, but when the school moved to Abbot’s Hill and the estate was sold for housing – now St Nicholas Mount – the site was quickly surrounded as the new town developed apace.

The bungalow at the end of the lane leading to Shrub Hill Common, once accommodation for resident teaching staff, is nowadays the only reminder of those early school days.

After supporting her brave sister’s battle against a rare medical condition Kate Couchman decided she needed to do something special.

And that something is taking on three of the UK’s most gruelling challenges to raise funds and heighten awareness of the little-known issue.

Kate’s sister Meg was diagnosed with myasthenia gravis, a condition which affects the muscles in her throat making it difficult for her to eat or speak, when she was just 15.

Meg is now 25, and has recently been re-admitted to hospital for treatment. Her lifelong dream of having children also lies in the balance, as rounds of chemotherapy treatment may have affected her fertility.

Kate recently moved from South Africa to the UK and works at the Solgar vitamin and food supplement group in Tring.

Her sister still lives in South Africa, and has to take medication every four hours.

Although she is still working, sometimes she cannot make it though the day due to her condition.

Kate is determined to help in any way she can, and will take on the Three Peaks, Thames Path 100km and Grand Union walking challenges this year.

She said: “I feel so useless being here. I want to raise as much awareness as possible so I am doing something that I will find very gruelling.

“If I went skydiving or something that’s just fun, that would not push me to the limit and I wouldn’t feel right about asking people to donate money.”

Sometimes it can take hours for Meg to be able to swallow her medication because of the condition.

Kate hopes the money she raises will be able to help fund research into drugs that can be administered through a drip.

To sponsor Kate visit www.virginmoneygiving.com/KateCouchman. To find out more about myasthenia gravis visit www.mga-charity.org.

Crooks who phone victims in a bid to get their hands on bank details and cash cards are still targeting people living in Herts.

Police say the fraudsters, who pretend to be police officers or a bank worker, have changed the way they are operating and are now persuading people to withdraw cash and hand it over to a courier. They are also continuing to get victims to hand over their bank cards.

There have been more than 100 calls to police about suspicious phone calls across the county since the beginning of the year and several arrests have been made.

But county police are still working to raise awareness of the crime in the hope of preventing future offences. Officers have been spreading the message by working with taxi companies, meals on wheels and other partners.

To find out more {http://www.herts.police.uk/advice/crime_prevention/phone_scams.aspx|click here}

Bureaucrats have decided they will not install a footpath through the middle of Berkhamsted’s Waitrose supermarket after all.

The idea was mooted 17 years ago in an attempt to stop the store from being built – but County Hall only got round to considering the proposition three months ago.

After some thought, its bureaucrats have now rejected the idea.

{http://www.hemeltoday.co.uk/news/local/right-of-way-through-waitrose-county-hall-finally-investigates-berkhamsted-supermarket-plan-17-years-later-1-5632309|You can read our prior coverage about County Hall’s consideration of the plan by clicking here}

Water firm Affinity says it will be keeping any increase in charges below the rate of inflation for the coming year – and making life easier for people on lower incomes.

Water bills for many households on low incomes can be reduced if they switch to a fixed rate bill, says the company.

Affinity already boasts one of the lowest average water bills in the country.

Tariffs will increase by 0.6 per cent on average next year, and the new flat rate tariff for qualifying low income households will be available from April. The firm has also confirmed £100m investment in its network.

Chief executive Richard Bienfait said: “We will not only keep water bills below inflation for the coming year but we are also committed to do so for the next five years up to 2020.

“We recognise that our customers are continuing to see pressures on household budgets and we are making sure that we keep our bills as low as possible by increasing further the efficiency of our operations.”

Affinity Water is one of the first in the country to offer the flat rate tariff option, following consultation which has included in-depth customer research and surveys.

The northbound A41 was closed after an accident caused a car to flip onto its roof early yesterday afternoon.

Emergency services were called to the Bourne End junction of the dual carriageway at about 12.50pm.

The driver of an overturned car had been injured after a collision between a red Mitsubishi Colt and a silver Ford Focus.

Police closed the carriageway just before 1pm while paramedics treated the motorist and it was reopened just after 2.20pm.

Ambulance service spokesman Richard Dunne said: “We were called just before 1pm to a two vehicle collision treating a man in his 50s who suffered minor injuries.

“He was taken to Hemel Hempstead General for further treatment.”

A football club whose original home was destroyed in an arson attack last summer has seen justice served on the teenage firebugs responsible.

Two boys aged 15 and 16 and a 16-year-old girl all pleaded guilty to the offence, which saw Tring Athletic’s Miswell Lane base go up in smoke in July, with five Dacorum-based crews required to tackle the blaze.

The trio, who cannot be named for legal reasons, appeared on separate days at West and Central Herts Magistrates Courts.

They were handed varying sentences which included paying court costs and a victim surcharge, being referred to a youth offending panel, and, for the older male, attending a fire setters’ rehabilitation course.

But although the culprits have been reprimanded, the club’s chairman Mick Eldridge says little else has changed in the aftermath of the attack.

The clubhouse – its original home from 1958 – has since been the subject of a number of break-ins, the most recent occurring at the weekend.

Mr Eldridge said: “The building is as it was in July last year – nothing has happened to it. After the fire, someone broke in and was living there but it has since been broken into again. I expect it will be boarded up again.”

The building itself is owned by Dacorum Borough Council, and according to Mr Eldridge there is no timescale in place for its repair yet, although council contractors have inspected the site.

The club’s A and B teams, who used the site before the fire, are now using the club’s main training pitch in Cow Lane.

The chairman continued: “There is no option at the moment but to use something else.

“The only good thing is that they have caught somebody, and hopefully they will be rehabilitated to deter them from doing something like this again.

“It is a serious thing, so it’s good that it has gone through the courts. We will just have to wait and see what happens now. The clubhouse is a bit of an eyesore at the moment.”

A pair of friends and events planners are showcasing the best local suppliers at a wedding fayre this weekend.

Pals Meredith Hepner Chapman and Victoria Scriven – also known as Brilliant Birds – have gathered the best of local wedding suppliers together under one roof.

The fayre will be held at the Kings Arms on Berkhamsted’s High Street on Sunday between noon and 4pm.

Loved-up couples will be able to speak to those offering everything from cakes, bespoke tailors and flowers to invitations, wedding speeches and favours.

They will also get the chance to view the pub’s wedding suite, along with other character bedrooms.

Meredith said: “We are so excited about the fayre because we have some fabulous people on board. It just goes to show that you can have a beautiful wedding using just local suppliers.”

{http://www.brilliantbirds.co.uk/|For more information, visit the Brilliant Birds website here.}

Plans to place prisoners from Herts in Bovingdon’s HMP The Mount for the final months of their sentences could drive down reoffending rates, says the county’s police and crime commissioner.

David Lloyd has spearheaded the campaign to ensure all local convicts are moved to the only prison in the county prior to their release, in a bid to ease their rehabilitation back into civilian life.

Under initial government plans, The Mount was earmarked to host prisoners from London, while Herts offenders would have been moved to a Suffolk jail.

The decision has since been overturned by justice secretary Chris Grayling and The Mount will now become Herts’ designated ‘resettlement’ facility.

Mr Lloyd said: “This is an excellent result for Herts.

“Getting prison leavers properly reintegrated back into the community is the best thing that can be done to stop them offending again.

“Housing, education, work and strong community ties are paramount as they can help steer ex-offenders away from a life of crime.

“Meanwhile, the authorities will also be better able to keep tabs on those prison leavers who are determined to go back to criminality.”

The resettlement scheme forms part of a new Transforming Rehabilitation programme by the government, which Mr Lloyd and the Herts police force have been working closely with other partnership agencies, services and charities to integrate.

It is hoped rehabilitating prisoners close to where they live will help them receive targeted training and support, prior to their sentence finishing and upon their return to the community.

The Mount’s governor Steven Bradford said: “In future, the prison will be able to better protect the local population in Herts from re-offending by former prisoners, by properly preparing them before their release into the community.

“This will be achieved by working much more closely with local agencies in resettling offenders.”

Flooding issues will be on the agenda when the Dacorum environmental Forum meets on Thursday, February 20.

The proposed LA3 west Hemel Hempstead Green Belt land development will also be discussed at the Box Moor Trust, London Road, from 7.30pm.

Members of the public are welcome to attend.